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Donald Trump Is Using Colts Linebacker Edwin Jackson’s Death to Push Anti-Immigrant Rhetoric

On Sunday morning, Indianapolis Colts linebacker Edwin Jackson died in a fatal car accident after being struck by a suspected drunk driver. Donald Trump, the bigoted opportunist that he is, decided to use the 26-year-old’s death for his immigration platform.

According to Huffpost, authorities discovered that the driver responsible for Jackson’s death is Manuel Orrego-Savala, a Guatemalan citizen who lived under the alias Alex Cabrera Gonsales. Orrego-Savala is living in the U.S. illegally and has been deported twice before. This information provided Trump with enough ammunition to fire off a new anti-immigration tweet.

My prayers and best wishes are with the family of Edwin Jackson, a wonderful young man whose life was so senselessly taken. @Colts

So disgraceful that a person illegally in our country killed @Colts linebacker Edwin Jackson. This is just one of many such preventable tragedies. We must get the Dems to get tough on the Border, and with illegal immigration, FAST!

While it’s true that Orrego-Savala’s presence in the U.S. resulted in Jackson’s death, it’s obviously ridiculous to try and conflate this tragic loss with the need for an immigration crackdown that would pose a threat to the lives of thousands of innocent undocumented immigrants in the U.S.

In fact, Jackson’s roommate Chad Bouchez said Trump’s border wall and other immigration enforcement tactics are the opposite of what the former Colts player would want. "I don't think Edwin would have judged anyone on where they were from or anything else," Bouchez told CBS.